The average SAT score in the United States is 1029, based on more than 2 million test-takers in the collegeboard.org” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>College Board‘s Class of 2025 report. That breaks down to 521 in Reading & Writing and 508 in Math.
This guide takes that headline number apart. You will see how the average SAT score has shifted year by year, how it changes dramatically across the 50 states once you factor in participation rates, and how it differs by school type. By the end, you will know exactly where your score lands and what counts as a realistic target for the colleges you care about.
What is the average SAT score in 2026?
According to the College Board’s 2025 SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report, the most recent class average is 1029 out of 1600. The Class of 2025 was the first cohort to exceed 2 million SAT takers since 2020, and the first majority-digital cohort, with 97% of students taking the Digital SAT.
A few headline numbers worth knowing for 2026:
- Mean total score: 1029
- Mean Reading & Writing: 521
- Mean Math: 508
- Total test-takers (Class of 2025): 2,004,965
- % taking the Digital SAT: 97%
- % taking the SAT during a school day: 68%
- % meeting both college readiness benchmarks: 39%
The 1029 figure is roughly five points higher than the 1024 reported for the Class of 2024, but still notably below the 1060 average from before the pandemic. If you want to see how the underlying scoring math produces these totals, our breakdown of how the SAT score is calculated walks through every step.
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Average SAT score by year (2016 – 2025)
The national mean moves slowly, but the multi-year pattern tells the real story: a pre-pandemic peak, a clear drop, and the start of a recovery.
| Class Year | Mean Total | Mean R&W | Mean Math | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1083 | 542 | 541 | Pre-pandemic peak |
| 2017 | 1060 | 533 | 527 | New (post-2016) SAT in full swing |
| 2018 | 1068 | 536 | 531 | Growing participation |
| 2019 | 1059 | 531 | 528 | Final pre-pandemic class |
| 2020 | 1051 | 528 | 523 | Pandemic disruption begins |
| 2021 | 1060 | 533 | 528 | Fewer test-takers, selection effect |
| 2022 | 1050 | 529 | 521 | Test-optional surge nationwide |
| 2023 | 1028 | 520 | 508 | Lowest post-pandemic |
| 2024 | 1024 | 519 | 505 | Slight further dip |
| 2025 | 1029 | 521 | 508 | First majority-digital class |
The five-year drop from 2019 to 2024 is roughly 35 points, and the small 2025 bounce is the first uptick since 2021. The College Board attributes most of the dip to pandemic learning loss in foundational reading and math skills, plus the wider testing pool that came with more states adopting SAT School Day.
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What is driving the trend?
Three forces are pulling the average in different directions, and you cannot read the number sensibly without them.
More students are testing in school, on a school day. 68% of Class of 2025 test-takers took the SAT during a school day, not on a weekend. School-day testing pulls in students who would never have signed up for a Saturday administration, which broadens the pool and tends to lower the average score.
The Digital SAT is now the format. 97% of the Class of 2025 took the test digitally. The shorter, section-adaptive format scores on the same 400-1600 scale, but a fully adaptive structure changes how raw performance translates into a scaled score.
Test-required policies are coming back. Several selective colleges that went test-optional in 2020 have reinstated requirements for 2025 and 2026 admissions cycles, which is bringing more high-achieving students back into the testing pool and gently lifting averages at the top end.
Average SAT score by state
State averages range wildly, from below 900 to above 1250. The single biggest reason is participation rate, not student ability.
States where the SAT is a required school-day test (every junior takes it) report lower averages because the entire student population is included. States with 1% – 5% participation report higher averages because only college-bound, well-prepared students opt in.
The table below uses the most recent (Class of 2025) data published by the College Board, with state averages and participation rates side by side.
| State | Mean Total | Participation | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 1254 | 1% | Tiny opt-in pool of top students |
| Nebraska | 1249 | 1% | Same pattern as ND |
| Wisconsin | 1246 | 2% | High-achieving opt-in pool |
| Iowa | 1232 | 2% | ACT-dominant state |
| Kansas | 1228 | 3% | ACT-dominant state |
| Missouri | 1226 | 2% | ACT-dominant state |
| Minnesota | 1219 | 4% | High-achieving opt-in |
| Tennessee | 1211 | 4% | ACT is the required test |
| Mississippi | 1205 | 1% | Very small opt-in pool |
| Wyoming | 1194 | 3% | ACT is required statewide |
| Massachusetts | 1145 | 80% | High participation, strong K-12 |
| New Jersey | 1112 | 79% | High participation, strong K-12 |
| Virginia | 1107 | 68% | Mixed required and optional |
| Maryland | 1075 | 69% | Mixed required and optional |
| California | 1067 | 23% | Optional, opt-in pool |
| New York | 1057 | 76% | High participation |
| Texas | 1019 | 65% | High participation |
| Florida | 990 | 90% | Required statewide |
| Illinois | 974 | 98% | Required statewide |
| Connecticut | 972 | 100% | Required statewide |
| Rhode Island | 961 | 100% | Required statewide |
| Indiana | 952 | 100% | Required statewide |
| Michigan | 952 | 100% | Required statewide |
| Colorado | 950 | 99% | Required statewide |
| New Hampshire | 941 | 100% | Required statewide |
| Delaware | 933 | 100% | Required statewide |
| West Virginia | 904 | 99% | Required statewide |
| Oklahoma | 901 | 64% | Mixed required and optional |
| New Mexico | 875 | 100% | Required statewide |
The pattern is clean. Almost every state above 1200 has single-digit participation, and almost every state below 1000 has 95%+ participation.
North Dakota and New Mexico illustrate the extremes: the same test, the same scale, very different reported averages, because they are testing entirely different populations.
Read this twice: state averages are not academic rankings. North Dakota at 1254 and New Mexico at 875 are not 379 points apart in school quality. They are 379 points apart in which students sit for the test.
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Top and bottom states explained
The high end (1240+): North Dakota (1254), Nebraska (1249), and Wisconsin (1246). All three see roughly 1-2% participation because the ACT, not the SAT, is dominant in those states. The students who choose to take the SAT in these states are typically aiming for selective out-of-state colleges, which heavily skews the average upward.
The mid-tier (1100 – 1200): Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and New Hampshire. These states have strong K-12 systems and moderate-to-high SAT participation, producing averages that are a fairer read on actual student performance.
The low end (under 1000): New Mexico (875), Oklahoma (901), West Virginia (904), and Delaware (933). Every state in this group requires the SAT for all high school juniors, so the average reflects the entire 11th-grade class, including students who are not college-bound and have done no prep.
Average SAT score by school type
The College Board does not officially publish a clean public-vs-private SAT split, but multiple independent analyses of admitted-student data show a consistent pattern.
| School Type | Approximate Mean | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Public high schools (national) | 1010 – 1040 | Reflects full population in many states |
| Private/independent schools | 1180 – 1280 | Selective admissions, college-prep curriculum |
| Magnet and exam schools | 1300 – 1450 | Highly selective admission, top-quartile students |
| Religiously affiliated schools | 1070 – 1140 | Mid-band, varies widely by school |
| Charter schools | 1000 – 1100 | Wide variance by network and region |
| Homeschool students | 1100 – 1170 | Self-selecting, college-bound |
The private vs public gap of roughly 150 – 250 points is driven mostly by selection effects, not curriculum alone. Private schools admit students who tested well at age 12-13, and most private school graduates plan to attend a four-year college, which means heavier prep, more practice tests, and more retakes. If you are curious how those raw skills translate without prep, our analysis of the average SAT score without studying covers that baseline.
Average SAT score by gender and demographics
College Board demographic data for the Class of 2025 shows the gaps that researchers have tracked for years.
- Male: 1037 mean (slightly higher in Math)
- Female: 1023 mean (slightly higher in R&W)
- First-generation college students: ~950 mean
- Students whose parents hold graduate degrees: ~1160 mean
- Students receiving free or reduced-price lunch: ~950 mean
Income, parental education, and access to test prep are the single largest predictors of score. None of these gaps are gaps in ability. They are gaps in opportunity and exposure to the question types the test rewards.
How your score compares: percentile snapshot
The “mean” tells you the middle. The percentile tells you where you actually rank.
| SAT Total | Percentile | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1600 | 99+ | Perfect score, top 0.1% |
| 1500 | 98 | Top 2%, Ivy-range |
| 1400 | 94 | Top 6%, strong target schools |
| 1300 | 87 | Above-average, mid-tier admit-friendly |
| 1200 | 76 | Solidly above average |
| 1100 | 62 | Just above the national mean |
| 1029 | 50 | Exact 2025 national mean |
| 1000 | 45 | Just below average |
| 900 | 27 | Below average |
| 800 | 13 | Bottom 13% |
If you scored a 1300, our deep dive on is 1300 a good SAT score covers the college list and scholarship picture. If you crossed 1400, the matching guide on is 1400 a good SAT score shows where that puts you for admissions and merit aid.
What “average” means for your college list
National and state averages are interesting context. They are not your target.
The number that matters is your specific college’s middle 50% range, not the national mean. A 1029 is the average American test-taker. It is not the average admit at NYU, Michigan, or UCLA, where middle 50% ranges start at 1370+ and run past 1530.
For practical college planning, look up the middle 50% SAT range published by each school in your application list. Aim for the 75th percentile of your top-choice school: that is the score that makes you a comfortable admit rather than a borderline case.
Our guide on what is considered a good SAT score covers this framework in detail. For Ivy-League targeting, the SAT score for Harvard breakdown shows how the very top schools read scores.
2026 outlook: what changes in the digital era
A few shifts will keep moving the national average over the next two cycles.
Adaptive scoring is fully baked in. Every SAT administered in the U.S. is now digital and section-adaptive. The 1029 average for the Class of 2025 is the first cleanly digital baseline, which makes year-over-year comparisons more meaningful going forward.
More frequent testing windows. The Digital SAT runs on shorter, more flexible windows. More students will retake at least once, which historically pulls the reported best-score average upward by 30 – 50 points per student.
Score reinstatements at selective colleges. Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, MIT, Georgetown, and several others now require test scores again. The students applying to these schools will prep harder and test more, which will continue to nudge the upper end of the distribution up.
To see exactly where your raw score lands and what it means for your college list, the LearnQ.ai Digital SAT Score Calculator translates section-by-section performance into a clean total and percentile in under a minute.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the average SAT score in 2026? The average SAT score is 1029, based on the College Board’s Class of 2025 report (the most recent published data covering more than 2 million students). The breakdown is 521 in Reading & Writing and 508 in Math.
What is a good SAT score compared to the average? A score above 1200 puts you above 75% of test-takers, and is considered a good score for most public universities. A score above 1400 places you in the top 6% and opens the door to highly selective colleges.
Why is the average SAT score different by state? State averages depend almost entirely on participation rate. States that require the SAT for every junior report lower averages because the whole population is included. States where SAT is optional and the ACT dominates report higher averages because only college-bound students opt in.
What is the average SAT score for private schools vs public schools? Private and independent school students average roughly 1180 – 1280, compared with 1010 – 1040 at public schools nationally. The gap is mostly driven by selection effects, not curriculum quality.
Has the average SAT score gone up or down? The average dropped from 1059 in 2019 to 1024 in 2024, a 35-point decline linked to pandemic learning loss and broader school-day participation. The 2025 average ticked up to 1029, the first uptick since 2021.
What is the average Digital SAT score? The Digital SAT uses the same 400 – 1600 scale as the paper test. The Class of 2025 average of 1029 is effectively the average Digital SAT score, since 97% of that class tested digitally.
What state has the highest average SAT score? North Dakota leads with a mean of 1254, followed by Nebraska (1249) and Wisconsin (1246). All three states have 1 – 2% SAT participation because the ACT is the dominant test there.
Is the SAT getting easier or harder? The 400 – 1600 scale is unchanged. The Digital SAT is shorter and adaptive, but the College Board has confirmed that scoring difficulty is calibrated to match the paper test. A 1200 today represents the same achievement as a 1200 in 2019.
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Sources: College Board 2025 SAT Suite Annual Report; state-level participation and mean score data from the College Board state reports; demographic gap analysis from the College Board Total Group reports 2019 – 2025.
